Caray, Caray!

Benjamin is listening at the door as Lupe tells Ayala he heard Angela and Romulo arguing, not long before Romulo's death. "I'm not going to let you do this! Over my dead body, or over yours," Lupe remembers hearing Angela declare.

Lupe recalls hearing Angela say she wouldn't let Romulo destroy their (her and Andres) life. Romulo said he was going to use "that document" and that his lawyer has a copy: "Andres is my son."

Angela was incredulous: Sure, TWENTY YEARS LATER the guy wants to recognize his son. Right. "You should have thought of that before," she told him. She vowed to do "anything" to protect Andres.

Lupe is devastated to have incriminated Angela in this manner. Later, Angela sees Ayala march Lupe past her office, and nearly hyperventilates.

Benjamin approaches Angela to warn her. He's known her for thirty years, and Lupe has betrayed her. Angela stiffens; she doesn't want to hear about Lupe's and Benjamin's "primate war." "But Lupe was talking about you and Romulo," Benjamin says.

Alfredo visits Sofia at the Retreat for Nervous Ladies. It's a very tense meeting. Luisa sits with them and won't leave. "It's the rules," Luisa explains. Sofia is silent until Alfredo asks Sofia how she's doing. Sofia just cries.

Later, Sofia walks with the handsome young priest. She looks relaxed and almost happy until she sees a couple of men walk by with large blocks of ice. "Don't worry, that's not for you," the priest says. "I've got another type of treatment in mind for you!" Luisa witnesses this, but her face is inscrutable.

Natalia and Andres didn't go to the fair as planned, because she wanted to visit Gabriel at the hospital before his surgery. Andres is happy Gabriel will be able to see Violeta. "You're not so happy about that, are you?" he asks Natalia. But now that Natalia has Andres at her side, she says everyone has the right to love. She and Andres look very happy together. Smoochies!

Felipe and Jorge converse. Felipe thinks the grass is greener on Jorge's side of the fence. I think he says he'd trade in his nice soft bed to live out in the open land. Jorge says, "be careful what you wish for." Jorge has a big plan, but won't let Felipe in on what it is.

Benjamin continues his monologue with Angela. He knows all about Angela and Romulo. But she consoled Benjamin when his wife died, and when he took his son to live with his sister. She made him teas for months when he couldn't sleep. She was his only friend, and he heard her crying many nights over Romulo.

Stunned, Angela asks who else knows about her and Romulo. Benjamin is pretty sure that only he and Lupe know. But, Benjamin insists, "you didn't do anything wrong." Angela disagrees. It was wrong to lie for 20 years. Benjamin thinks Romulo took advantage of her, but Angela firmly states that she loved Romulo. That's not what Benji wants to hear. At any rate, he says, that's not what Lupe was talking to the police about. They were talking about a crime. Benjamin doesn't want Angela to go to jail. "I won't run away," Angela says. Benjamin replies, "don't pay for a crime you didn't commit."

Ayala gives Isabel a heads-up on what's happening. Isabel doesn't believe Angela capable of murder. "We're all incapable until we're sufficiently threatened," Ayala says. He puts Isa in Angela's shoes, impregnated by her employer, raising a child alone while Romulo raises his own family, watching other people live the life that's rightfully hers. "We have the weapon, the opportunity, and the motive," he says. They'll have to talk to Angela.

Elisa tells Victoria she's disappointed she didn't get a chance to ask Alfredo about annulling his marriage, but he'll be ready once he sees how sick Sofia is. He already feels guilty and frightened, but no one can cure Sofia. (Elisa stops just short of rubbing her hands together and going "bwahahahaha.") Now that the baby's been abandoned by his crazy mother, Alfredo will have the child all to himself and can inherit that land.

Benjamin confronts Lupe and calls him a Judas. He smugly informs Lupe that he told Angela of his betrayal. "Stay away from her, or you'll have to deal with me!" Benjamin warns Lupe.

Angela searches Isabel's room and finds the necklace.

At the hospital, Gabriel kisses Violeta on the cheek. Jacinto watches and glowers. Later, he confronts Violeta, taunting her, asking doesn't she want to be with a real man, tries to kiss her, and generally acts like a Neanderthal. She knees him in the nuts and walks away!

Elisa gets up to mischief on the telephone. I don't get all of this. She makes at least one phone call inviting someone to the Mimi Peralta concert, I think. But there's another call to the bishop, her relative, asking about the Retreat for Nervous Ladies. She asks about a handsome young priest and is confused when she's told that the guy who runs that place is supposed to be like eighty years old. (I may have mixed this up a little, but it sounds as though there's something funny going on there.)

Ayala interrupts the servants' meal to ask for Angela. No one has seen her.

Angela has gone to the secret room. She's dusting. She looks at a photo of herself with Romulo.

Ayala tells Isabel he's not leaving the hotel till he speaks with Angela. Inspired, Isabel looks for the necklace and can't find it.

Teresa is unhappy to see Ayala and Dagoberto hanging around her precious hotel yet again. She doesn't want them messing up her Mimi Peralta concert! Isabel warns Teresa that they're here to interrogate Angela. Isabel tells her that apparently, Angela and her husband were blackmailing Romulo. (Boy, talk about connecting the dots the wrong way!) No, Angela's husband wasn't dead, she tells Teresa. Angela lied about that.

Julio waits for Isabel, but Diego gets to her first.

Ayala interrupts another servants' meal. Andres is there this time. Ayala asks Andres where his mother is, because she's suspected in Romulo's death. Andres is shocked. Later, in their room, Andres asks Julio for help. But Isabel shows up at their door, asking for Julio.

At the cantina, Violeta tells her mother she needs to do a double-shift at the hospital to cover for the doctors who will be at the Mimi Peralta concert tonight. (Melibea mocks Violeta for speaking of "shifts.") Melibea wants her to stay and care for Genaro, but Violeta makes a smart remark that leaves Melibea stunned (and unfortunately I don't get the remark, but it's either about Melibea wanting Violeta's paycheck, or about Melibea wanting the cantina for herself). Whatever it is, Melibea has no choice but to let Violeta go to the hospital!

Ayala goes to Matilde's door and asks her for a favor.

Lupe curses himself in his room for betraying Angela. Jacinto comes in, and they have that ever-popular inter-generational debate: "Where were you?" "Out!"

"I know what kind of work you do for Diego," Lupe accuses Jacinto. "Mind your own beeswax," is Jacinto's witty reply.

Felipe is confused when Jorge's men surround him, grab him, and carry him off. (Are they hoping to get a ransom from Teresa? Because she'd rather pay them to keep him, I think.)

Teresa is irritated to see that Ayala still hasn't left the hotel. She tells him that only invited guests can attend the concert. But Ayala is an invited guest: he's Matilde's date!

Julio and Isabel are in Romulo's study, arguing. She wants to confront Angela. She bangs on the bookshelf wall. Angela opens the secret door, and Isabel joins her inside the secret passage.

Next time: Cecilia gets up to mischief. Isabel confronts Angela.

Labels: hotel